The present invention relates to multidimensional imaging and to methods and devices for improving multidimensional imaging. Specifically, the present invention relates to high-resolution multidimensional imaging.
Many recent developments in multidimensional imaging have been directed towards improvements on lenticular imaging. Lenticular imaging generally consists of creating a plurality of frames, ordering the frames in a desired sequence, rasterizing and compressing the frames, converting and interlacing the compressed frames, and transferring the frames to an imaging device and producing an image. The resultant image can give the impression of movement or three-dimensionality. Examples of lenticular imaging processes are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,896,230, 5,847,808, 5,617,178, and 5,488,451, by the same inventor as the present invention, which the disclosures are incorporated herein by reference.
Lenticular imaging uses lenses designed specifically for the lenticular imaging process. The individual lenses or lenticules are arranged in a linear fashion, typically either in a vertical or horizontal arrangement and are typically elongated cylinders extending the entire length or width of the lenticular image. Vertically arranged lenses provide a viewer with a three-dimensional (3-D) image when viewing the image in a left to right manner. Horizontally arranged lens give a perception of movement in the viewed image. While there may be some motion attributes for a vertical arrangement and some 3-D attributes for a horizontal arrangement, the specific vertical or horizontal alignments provide for visual clarity or acuity of the image frames for either 3-D features or movement, respectively, but not for both. The improved sharpness or clarity of a specific visual effect depends on the alignment and direction of the lenses and is possible in only one direction, regardless of the quality of the lens, and, as such, is a limitation of lenticular imaging.
Along with incorporating movement and 3-D aspects into the presented images, advancements in multidimensional imaging have focused on the resolution of the final product. Resolution of the printed lenticular images has been improved by establishing screening techniques that increase the frequency of the dots in the image. For instance, multidimensional imaging has moved from an amplitude modulation based process, such as half-tone screening, that potentially degrades the images and pictures by averaging the pixels within the image, to a frequency modulation based process, such as stochastic screening. Adjusting the focal lengths of the lenticular lenses has improved the visual resolution of the lenticular images, as well. The lens resolution or pitch for high definition lenticular lenses has increased from having 75 lenses per inch, to 100 lenses per inch, to a lens resolution of 200 lenses per inch, disclosed in, U.S. Pat. No. 6,424,467, with the same inventive entity as the present invention and incorporated by reference.
Other imaging processes, such as barrier strip imaging, have been employed in multidimensional imaging. Sandor et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,113,213, discloses a barrier strip imaging process where a predetermined number of planar images of an object from different viewpoints are interleaved and printed with a selected edge of each interleaved image aligned in a predetermined direction. Barrier strip imaging allows interlaced images to be projected as multidimensional images by backlighting the image and viewing the image through a barrier strip. Barrier strip imaging blocks the view of portions of the interlaced image and prevents the viewer from seeing a graphical image over the majority of the viewable area. The interlaced image is only visible through narrow clear regions located between the barrier strips. Furthermore, barrier strip imaging provides only transmissive multidimensional imaging and generally is inadequate for reflective imaging, which limits the overall utility for barrier strip imaging.
Current technology has developed accordingly to the limits available for computer printing. Current technology has generally been based on, among other factors, pixel limits of computer programs, processing speeds for computer programs, and the amount of storage space on a computer. Graphical hardware and software solutions were both limited by the state of the art. Lenticular lenses and methods were developed according to the industry's graphic imaging standard, preferably using Adobe® Photoshop® software, versions 7.0 and earlier, where the upper available pixel limit was approximately 30,000×30,000 pixels. The upper limit for memory and storage space in operating systems and file systems on a desktop computer was around 2 gigabytes of information. Thus, printing and imaging equipment was designed with such limits in mind.
However, recent advancements have allowed the upper pixel limit to be in the range of 300,000×300,000 pixels or more. With the use of a 64-bit operating systems, such as Mac OS X 10.3.3, developed by Apple Computer, Inc., it is now possible to address and utilize files holding 8 gigabytes of data in RAM, and it is further possible to store files having greater than sixteen (16) terabytes of information, as depicted in Table 1.
TABLE 1Expansion of Processing LimitsCurrent PotentialPrevious Limit(minimum)Pixel Imaging30,000 × 30,000300,000 × 300,000pixelspixelsRAM storage2 gigabytes8 gigabytesFile capacity2 gigabytes16 terabyte
Adobe® Photoshop CS®, version 8.0, currently is the industry's standard that may also utilize the higher software potentials. Though graphical imaging software has developed to allow operating systems, file systems, RAM and hard drive capacity, and data processing storage to greatly increase multidimensional imaging processes, such as lenticular imaging, which use lenticular lenses, the processes have not developed at a comparable rate to fully take advantage of the improvements of the software. Previous imaging processes, such as lenticular imaging, still are limited by the quality and precision of the lenses, and, also, prior printing methods and printing technology. New methods and devices for utilizing the advances in technology and programming are desired that also will adapt with future technological advancements and improvements.
Prior processes, such as lenticular imaging, also require precise correspondence of interlaced images and the lenticules of the lenticular lens in the final image, to prevent banding of the image. Banding refers to a final multi-dimensional image where each individual frame is not seen completely as a contiguous individual image, resulting in an improper, incomplete final image in its entirety. Correspondence refers to the interlaced segments of the provided images being congruent with the individual lenticules of the lenticular lens. As explained in U.S. Pat. No. 6,490,092, and incorporated herein by reference, without proper correspondence between the image segments and the individual lenticules, degradation of the final image is visibly noticeable. It would be advantageous to have a process that would achieve correspondence in a timely and efficient manner.
Another form of banding may occur when the resolution of the image frames does not properly coincide with the resolution of the output device, which has been addressed in U.S. Pat. Appl. No. 2003/0016370, herein incorporated by reference. This form of banding may be caused in several ways. For example, interpolating of the image pixels, which results in distortion, blending, and degrading of the image frames, or duplicating or truncating pixels, which creates hard glitches, lines, or artifacts, which are visually objectionable repetitive patterns, within the final image. If the resolutions of the interlaced image frame and the output device are not equal, the interlaced image must be interpolated to fit the resolution of the device. If the resolution of the image frames is higher than the resolution of the output device, individual pixels will be truncated providing hard lines in the final image. If the output resolution is higher, the individual pixels will be duplicated, causing pixels of image frames to be repeated in an undesirable pattern in the final image. While interpolating the pixels may achieve correspondence, interpolation may cause degradation of the final image by introducing glitches, lines, and artifacts by averaging data and blending frame information, which can cause ghosting. Imaging methods using fixed resolution devices have been developed to interpolate pixels to achieve proper correspondence between the image frames and the output devices. However, these methods still result in degradation of the final image, such as lines, artifacts, or visually objectionable patterns.
When compositing individual images used for multidimensional imaging processes, such as for lenticular imaging, screening processes, as previously discussed, can be used. Printing methods that require screening, such as lenticular imaging, screen the interlaced image prior to printing. Halftone screening methods that average pixels, and stochastic screening methods, such as error diffusion, pass error to surrounding pixels, thereby passing the error to juxtaposed image frames or by passing errors to the next segment of the compressed image frame, which results in the juxtaposed frames no longer containing clear or clean data. However, interpolating frames, as previously stated, passes errors from one frame to the next resulting in unnecessary blending of image frames, resulting in reduced visual acuity and clarity, whereby ghost images potentially may arise in the juxtaposed frames. Passing errors from one frame segment to another encompasses a distance that is of greater length than desirable, as shown by the arrows in FIG. 1C, potentially blurring the image frames. It would be advantageous to provide a process that would not require errors to be passed over several frames or over a great distance in a composite image.
Lenses developed for multidimensional imaging are limited, as well. While the number of lenses per inch has increased, as previously mentioned with respect to U.S. Pat. No. 6,424,467, the shape of the lenses is limited to essentially elongated cylinders traversing the length or width of the interlaced images. Round lenses, such as fly lenses, have been used, but leave gaps of non-optical areas that do not magnify portions of the interlaced image and are poor quality lenses for projecting a multi-dimensional image. When designing a lens it would be beneficial to maximize the optical surface of a lens while minimizing the non-optical area of the lens. It is desired to provide a lens that will overcome the shortcomings of the prior art and further provide a lens that will provide high visual clarity for multi-dimensional images not previously utilized by the prior art.